Siege of Singidun (26 BC)

The Siege of Singidun occurred in 26 BC during the Roman Empire's conquest of Pannonia from the Scordisci. The Romans succeeded in conquering the last bastion of Scordisci resistance to their rule, and the barbarian town of Singidun became the Roman city of Singidunum after a few decades of Romanization.

Background
In 27 BC, the Roman emperor Augustus responded to a call for help from the Odrysian Kingdom of Thrace against the barbaric Scordisci by disptaching Marcus Licinius Crassus and Legio VIII Macedonica from Thessalonica to drive out the Scordisci from Naissos, a town which they had overrun in western Thrace. The town fell after a short fight, and the legion, taking little time to rest, proceeded to march on the Scordisci capital of Singidun to the north to defeat them. Legio VIII Macedonica's strength was augmented by the recruitment of Thracian peltast mercenaries, and the 2,080-strong legion laid siege to the fortified town of Singidun, held by 2,160 Scordisci warriors.

Battle
Singidun was a fortified town with stone walls (held together with wood) and gates, which were built upon hilltops; the Scordisci warriors took up positions behind the wooden ramparts. The Roman siege artillery bombarded the Scordisci before the armored legionaries climbed the walls, battling the half-naked barbarians, who lacked armor or quality weapons. The Roman legionaries engaged in melee with the Scordisci at the walls as a detachment of soldiers opened the gates so that Roman cavalry could pour into the town and charge the Scordisci from behind. The Scordisci were in no position to face stronger enemies attacking from two sides, and they were utterly defeated; 1,695 of them were killed, while 305 were captured. The Romans did lose 600 men (including a whole Thracian auxiliary cohort), making their victory a costly one, but relatively few Roman citizens lost their lives in comparison.

Aftermath
The war with the Scordisci was brought to an end with the capture of Singidun, which marked the last bastion of resistance the Scordisci could offer to the Romans. Thrace was saved from invasion, but the Romans felt hungry for further expansion into Pannonia, as their conquest of Singidun made them neighbors with the Breuci and Dacians. In the following decades, Augustus would oversee the pacification of Pannonia and the annexation of the remaining settlements in the province, completing the process begun by the Scordisci war.